Press release

Three weeks after the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction opened this morning here to address the critical need of better preparing communities when faced by natural hazards.

Just ten years ago, on 17 January 1995, the city of Kobe was struck by a huge earthquake that killed 6,433 people and injured more than 40,000 people in 20 seconds. The earthquake was a traumatic experience for Japan and its people who realized too late

It could have been completely different. In the Pacific Ocean region, tsunami early warning systems have been in place for years, particularly in Japan and the United States, to protect citizens and towns along vulnerable coastlines that have experienced

Early on the morning of 26 December an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter Scale struck South Asia off the north west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The quake was the largest in magnitude since 1964, triggering tidal waves that caused

In cooperation with the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence and UNDP Tajikistan, UNISDR will organize a first regional consultative meeting at the UN building-conference hall, 93, Anini Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan on the 1-2 December 2005

Another tropical storm, even stronger than those which have recently claimed the lives of at least 400 people in the Philippines, is approaching the east coast of the island nation and could potentially result in more death and destruction. The

“The talks that will take place next week in Buenos Aires on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol, will be an important step forward,” says Sálvano Briceño, Director of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

Omar Dario Cardona received the award for his global efforts on disaster reduction. Omar Dario Cardona is a Colombian earthquake engineer known internationally for his pioneering approaches to vulnerability reduction and risk management. He has just been selected by a jury composed of representatives of the five continents as the 2004 winner of the United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction.

The natural hazards that are badly affecting countries as diverse as China, Bangladesh, France and the United Kingdom demonstrate that countries usually well prepared to prevent disasters are suffering huge losses in lives and livelihood. This illustrates

The Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction will be launching its 2004 version of “Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives ” on 14 July in New York. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian